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	<h2 class="hilight">Common and recommended switches</h2>
</div>
<h3>Common settings</h3>
<pre>
% lame <span class="hilight">[options]</span> inputfile [outputfile]
</pre>
<ul>
<li><strong>Constant Bitrate</strong>: <span class="hilight">-b number</span> or
 <span class="hilight">--preset cbr number</span>  Valid values
for the -b settings depend on the sampling rate<a href="#note1"><sup>1</sup></a>.
<pre>lame -b 128 sample.wav sample.mp3</pre>
</li>
<li><strong>Variable Bitrate (<a href="abr.html">ABR</a> mode)</strong>:
 <span class="hilight">--abr number</span> or <span class="hilight">--preset number</span>
 Valid values for the --abr setting range from 8 to 320.
<pre>lame --abr 128 sample.wav sample.mp3</pre> 
</li>
<li><strong>Variable Bitrate (<a href="vbr.html">VBR</a> mode)</strong>:
 <span class="hilight">-V number</span> Valid values
are from 0 to 9, with decimal values possible, where 0 is the highest quality
while 9.999 is the lowest one.
<pre>lame -V2 sample.wav sample.mp3</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Hydrogenaudio recommended settings</h3>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>Best quality</strong>, "archiving"<a href="#note2"><sup>2</sup></a> : 
<span class="hilight">-b 320</span>
<p>CBR 320 is the strongest setting for MP3, with
the lowest risk of artifacts. With the exception of a few situations, quality is
rarely better than the highest VBR profiles described below.
</p>
</li>
<li><strong>High quality</strong>, HiFi, home or quiet listening : 
<span class="hilight">-V0</span> (avg. 245 kbps) or <span class="hilight">-V1</span>
 (avg. 225 kbps) or <span class="hilight">-V2</span> (avg. 190 kbps) or <span class="hilight">
 -V3</span> (avg. 175 kbps).
 <p>These settings are considered to produce
 transparent encoding (transparent = most people can't distinguish the MP3 from
 the original in an ABX blind test). Audible differences between these presets
 exist, but are rare.
</p>
</li>
<li><strong>Portable</strong>, background noise and low bitrate requirement, small sizes : 

<span class="hilight">-V4</span> (avg. 160 kbps) or <span class="hilight">-V5</span>
(avg. 130 kbps) or <span class="hilight"> -V6</span> (avg. 115 kbps)
<p>
-V6 produces an "acceptable" quality, while -V4 should be close to perceptual transparency.
</p>
</li>
<li><strong>Very low bitrate, small sizes</strong>, eg. for voice, radio, mono encoding :
<span class="hilight">--abr 80</span> (stereo) or <span class="hilight">--abr 56 -m m</span> (mono)
<p>
For very low bitrates, up to 100kbps, ABR is most often the best solution.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<div id="notes">
<ol>
<li><a name="note1"></a>
<table cellpadding="5">
<tr><th>Codec</th>
<th>sample frequencies (kHz)</th>
<th>bitrates (kbps)</th></tr>
<tr><td>MPEG-1 layer III </td>  <td>32, 44.1, 48</td>
<td>32 40 48 56 64 80 96 112 128 160 192 224 256 320</td></tr>
<tr><td>MPEG-2 layer III</td><td> 16, 22.05, 24</td>
<td> 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 80 96 112 128 144 160</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-bottom:0px;">MPEG-2.5 layer III</td><td style="border-bottom:0px;"> 8, 11.025, 12</td>
<td style="border-bottom:0px;">8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64</td></tr>
</table>
</li>
<li><a name="note2"></a>Lossy codecs, like MP3, should not be used for archiving,
since the nature of lossy encoding always changes the original sound, even if it
sounds transparent. Use lossless codecs for this purpose.
</li>
</ol>
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